Past Definite Conjugation

Hungarian verbs in the past tense are built by adding a past tense marker to the stem, followed by a personal suffix. Unlike the indefinite conjugation, the definite conjugation is used when the verb has a specific, defined object.

1. When to use it:
You must use these endings if the object is:

• Preceded by the definite article a or az (e.g., a könyvet - the book).
• A proper name (e.g., Pétert).
• A third-person pronoun like őt (him/her) or őket (them), or the polite second-person Önt / Önöket or magát / magukat.
• An implied or dropped third-person object understood from context (e.g., Tudom - I know [it]; Láttam - I saw [it]).
• A demonstrative pronoun like ezt (this) or azt (that).
• A noun with a possessive suffix (e.g., az autómat - my car), unless preceded by an indefinite article like egy (e.g., egy barátomat - a friend of mine, which triggers the indefinite conjugation).
• The standalone pronoun mindegyik (each one). Note: mindent (everything), mindenkit (everyone), valamit (something), semmit (nothing), and the adjective minden + noun (e.g., minden könyvet) trigger the indefinite conjugation.
• The question word melyik (which).
• Any form of the reflexive pronoun (e.g., magamat, magadat, magát) or the reciprocal pronoun (egymást).
• A clause starting with hogy (that...).

Important: Informal first- and second-person pronouns (engem, téged, minket, titeket) trigger the indefinite conjugation, NOT the definite!

Note: If the subject is 'I' and the object is 'you' (informal), use the special -lak/-lek suffix instead. In the past tense, this attaches to the past tense stem, becoming -talak/-telek or -ttalak/-ttelek (e.g., láttalak - I saw you, szerettelek - I loved you).

2. The Past Tense Marker (-t / -tt):
The past tense marker is generally identical across conjugations, determined by the verb stem's phonology. The only time the marker differs between indefinite and definite conjugation for the same verb is in the 3rd person singular of certain verb classes, where the indefinite uses -ott/-ett/-ött and the definite uses a single -t (e.g., mondott - he said something vs. mondta - he said it).

• -t: Used for most verbs in the definite conjugation (e.g., vár-t-a, küld-t-e). This includes some verbs ending in -rd, -ld, or -nd (e.g., mondta), though others require the long marker (e.g., megoldotta, áldotta).
• -ott/-ett/-ött: Used for verbs ending in -ít (e.g., tanította), verbs ending in -t preceded by a consonant including -rt, -lt, -nt (e.g., festette, tartotta, bántotta), and verbs ending in double consonants (e.g., hallotta).

3. The Definite Personal Suffixes:
These suffixes follow vowel harmony. Note that the én (I) form is identical in both definite and indefinite conjugations.

• én: -am / -em (e.g., vártam, tanítottam) — Same as indefinite!
• te: -ad / -ed (e.g., vártad, tanítottad)
• ő: -a / -e (e.g., várta, tanította)
• mi: -uk / -ük (e.g., vártuk, tanítottuk)
• ti: -átok / -étek (e.g., vártátok, tanítottátok)
• ők: -ák / -ék (e.g., várták, tanították)